It had been a while since you've seen one kind of play from Alabama before Saturday night.

For the Crimson Tide quarterbacks, passing has been strictly up to the quarterbacks. ArDarius Stewart broke a streak that went back to a famous moment with his 12-yard completion to O.J. Howard in the 30-12 win over Auburn.

Alabama hasn't had a pass thrown by a non-quarterback since Marquis Maze's infamous interception in the 2011 Game of the Century loss to LSU. That's five full seasons without any kind of trick play involving a pass from anyone but who you'd expect.

"The whole season it's been in the playbook and they never let it loose," Stewart said. "So they finally did. I'm just happy."

Stewart, like Maze, played quarterback in high school. Instincts took over.

"I think there was a little corner or safety over the top," Stewart said. "I saw O.J. turn around and got back in high school mode and just threw it to him."

The second-quarter play gave Alabama a first down. Damien Harris broke off a 20-yard run on the next snap on a drive that eventually ended with a Jalen Hurts interception. Harris came away impressed with Stewart's accuracy.

"On a play like that, you kind of want to hit a guy that's wide open," Harris said. "But for him to put it in a tight window -- like he was actually a quarterback. I thought that was impressive."

Maze's interception was one of the more memorable moments of the most hyped games in recent memory. At first, it looked as if it would be the only touchdown in a defensive grudge match. But as tight end Michael Williams came to the ground, LSU safety Eric Reid snatched the ball away. It remained 6-6 after the early fourth quarter play in a game that ended in overtime.

This wasn't the first time Stewart had an option to pass. The Tide ran a play at LSU that called for him to throw back to Hurts, but the quarterback was well-covered by a disciplined Tiger defender. Stewart just ran it instead of forcing a throw.

So Stewart's has an impressive passing stat line moving into the postseason. Accuracy is 100 percent with a quarterback efficiency rating of 200.8.